Outside Scholarships for Music Majors Class of 2023

My daughter plans to study music in college (vocal performance, songwriting and recorded arts.) She is a rising senior and she is interested in applying for outside scholarships, big and small, to hopefully stack some money for college.

I was recently told there are popular, national sites like Fastweb, Cappex, and in zinc.h (guessing those are very competitive) but is there a national scholarship program/website out there specifically for music majors?

I know we should research state (New York in our case) and local scholarships too, but just wondering if any experienced scholarship seekers can point me in the best direction to begin the search.

My daughter is Hispanic, so I’m not sure if I should also be searching for minority scholarships.

Is there a downside to earning outside scholarships? I heard it may impact other aid provided by your college of choice. I would hate to have my daughter put extra time and effort into outside scholarships and realize it might hurt (or cancel out the benefit of) our overall financial package.

Any guidance is appreciated!

From our experience, the vast majority of the scholarship and grant monies came from within the school itself. In terms of outside scholarships, in addition to the sites mentioned by you, most of each school’s website will give you links and lists of additional outside scholarships for consideration.

“My daughter is Hispanic, so I’m not sure if I should also be searching for minority scholarships.”

Why not. There is a great subforum at CC with valuable information on this topic on Hispanic students.

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/

“Is there a downside to earning outside scholarships? I heard it may impact other aid provided by your college of choice”

Depends on the school. Some will stack outside scholarships and some won’t. Usually that information is provided at the school’s website. If not, call their financial aid office and they will let you know.

Thank you very much @coloraturadad!

Local scholarships are the easiest to get. Music clubs. Kiwanis type orgs. Chamber of Commerce etc. Those connected to the industry you work in. The high school itself. Those national scholarships are, for the majority, a waste of time.

That is good advice, @SpiritManager.

Between applications, pre-screening videos, extra vocal lessons, school work and auditions, I would rather keep any extra time and effort focused, meaningful and productive. Thank you.

Does her high school hand out local scholarships at graduation? Our school had an application form in the spring and then about 90 minutes worth of awarding of scholarships. With extensive financial aid, they were indeed just subtracted from the school aid, but that may not be true elsewhere.

She will contact her guidance office for a list of scholarships and how to apply. I know they have some they give out in the final weeks of school and at graduation, but not sure how extensive. Thanks, @compmom!